Su Rui descended with Cen An before a spacious stone cave.

Cen An noticed several patches of land beside the cave, planted with a jumble of plants.

Recalling the small sack of rice Su Rui had delivered earlier, he understood. This was likely one of the few cultivable spots deep within the mountains.

Come to think of it, was this man truly a wild man living in the mountains?

Voices drifted out from the cave. A young voice called, “Brother, who did you bring back?”

Cen An looked up to see a teenager of fifteen or sixteen emerge from the cave entrance. He bore a passing resemblance to Su Rui, though his eyes were rounder, giving him a slightly more vulnerable appearance…

The youth dashed to the doorway. His eyes lit up upon seeing Cen An. “It’s Cen… Ugh! Cen… Ugh! Ugh!”

Cen An’s expression turned confused: …What’s wrong? Did he just make him feel queasy?

A slow, drawn-out voice echoed from the cave entrance: “I… told… you… not… to… run. The… more… you… run… the… worse… you… will… vomit…”

A white-haired man emerged from the cave. Cen An had seen him before—it was the same man who had been poisoned last time.

He hadn’t noticed it before, but looking up at him now, the white-haired man was actually quite handsome. It was just that his perpetual frown, with his sharp eyebrows drooping into an unlucky eight-character shape, dragged his looks down from an eight to a five.

The white-haired man was far more reliable than the two brothers, at least knowing to offer greetings. “Last… time… we… parted… it’s… been… a… while… we… haven’t… exchanged… names…”

Cen An: …

Last time, he’d assumed the man’s sluggishness was due to the poison. So this was just his natural state! He couldn’t help but speed up his speech: “Hello, I’m Cen An.”

The other: “I… am… Shulan…”

Cen An couldn’t help but twitch his mouth, thinking You might as well call yourself Lightning…

He turned to look at Yin Xiang, who was still vomiting violently, “Is this your brother? What’s wrong with him? Is he sick?”

Su Rui casually replied, “Pregnant.”

Cen An:?

His eyes widened in shock. “Your brother… is pregnant?”

Then Su Rui glanced at him a few times before suddenly clutching his stomach and bursting into laughter. “Hahahaha! You actually believed it! You bought that ridiculous story! Hahahaha!”

Cen An: …

He took a deep breath, smiled, and stomped hard on his instep. Then, with a gasp, he helped Yin Xiang up, taking charge. “Come on, let’s talk inside… Hmm, is Little Puppy here?”

Yin Xiang had completely forgotten about that: “Ah, this… Little Puppy, haha, it’s not… not here…”

“Oh…” Cen An felt a pang of disappointment. He hadn’t seen Little Puppy in nearly a month. How big had the little guy grown? Would he still recognize him?

The cave interior was spacious and tidy. Though sparsely furnished, it wasn’t cluttered—hardly resembling a place where two bachelors lived.

Yin Xiang continued vomiting uncontrollably. Cen An couldn’t help but ask again about the cause.

“It’s poisoning.” Su Rui was honest this time. “Accidentally ingested a fertility crow herb.”

“I already said… Ugh! It wasn’t accidental…” Yin Xiang struggled to refute the claim. “That bastard deliberately poisoned me… Ugh! I’ll catch him sooner or later…”

The moment he mentioned Qiuziwu, Cen An understood. The Fertility Crow was a medicinal herb. Calling it a poison wasn’t entirely accurate.

After ingesting the Fertility Crow, whether man or woman, human or mutant beast, one would exhibit pregnancy symptoms. If examined by a physician, the results would similarly indicate pregnancy. By the end of the gestation period, the poisoned individual would give birth to a fleshy egg, after which they would be fine.

But using it to poison someone was excessive.

“Someone you know?” Cen An asked, slightly curious. “Are there others living nearby?”

“A human who suddenly fled here several years ago,” Su Rui replied. “Their ability level isn’t high, so I didn’t bother.”

To Su Rui, a human with low ability was no different from a low-grade mutant beast—his territory was full of them.

Yin Xiang had actually tracked that person down, but found nothing except a string of setbacks. Luckily, the person didn’t seem intent on harming anyone, so each time it was just a small punishment for a big lesson.

Seems quite a few people have fled deep into the mountains… Cen An was deep in thought when Su Rui nudged him with his elbow. “What about your medicine? Give him some.”

Cen An sighed helplessly. “Can medicine just be taken indiscriminately?”

“Why not?” Su Rui replied matter-of-factly. “Ordinary poisons won’t kill us. What if it works?”

Cen An thought: Is this really his own brother?

Just then, someone gasped, “You… can… try…”

He looked up—and lo and behold, Shulan was only now returning from the cave entrance!

The white-haired man leaned against the wall, shuffling forward in slow motion. “I… heard… many… medicines… can… cause… miscarriage…”

Cen An sighed. “Fine then… but this is what you wanted to try.”

All three present, even Yin Xiang himself, nodded frantically.

Cen An examined the medicines at hand—Rain Dew Essence, recovery potion, rejuvenation paste—none were suitable… Finally, he pulled out the small porcelain vial he’d drawn today. “Just so you know, I have no idea what’s in this. All I know is it’s not poison.”

Su Rui thrust his chin forward, signaling: Whatever it is, shove it in his mouth.

Cen An’s lips twitched as he poured out a pill. Yin Xiang snatched it and swallowed it immediately.

A floral fragrance wafted out.

Cen An was likely the only one on edge. As he watched, the system popped up a line of text.

【You used ‘Hundred Flowers Cough Relief Pill’】

【Hundred Flowers Cough Relief Pill

Category: Medicinal

Effect: Suppresses cough, clears lungs】

Yin Xiang smacked his lips. “Sweet, with a floral scent. Kind of tasty.” His eyes pleaded with Cen An. “Brother Cen, got any more?”

He was eating candy!

But with the system prompt, Cen An knew what to do and poured another one for him.

【You have used ‘Hawthorn Spleen-Strengthening Pill’】

“This one’s sour and sweet, even better than the last one…”

【You have used ‘Angelica and Saposhnikovia Pill’】

【You have used ‘Crimson Dawn Blood-Nourishing Pill’】

Cen An poured one pill, Yin Xiang ate one—it reminded him of playing the little game Zuma in his past life…

After four pills in a row, Yin Xiang grew more and more energetic, almost full. “Brother Cen, any more?”

Cen An shook his head and shoved the last pill into his mouth.

【You used ‘Life-Severing Pill’】

The name alone sounded ominous, but his outstretched hand was too late to retract. Yin Xiang tilted his head back and swallowed it.

Cen An panicked. “Oh no!”

He hurriedly checked the tooltip:

【Life-Severing Pill:

Category: Medicinal

Effect: Professional abortion. Use with extreme caution.】

Oh, this…

Su Rui and Shulan, however, weren’t particularly alarmed. They even had the leisure to ask him, “What’s wrong?”

Cen An… Cen An dryly replied, “Well, it seems… the medicine worked…”

Honestly, he hadn’t even imagined that this mixed medicine bottle would contain an abortion pill… No, more accurately, he had no idea such a pill even existed in the game!

This is a farming game! What’s this pill even for? Are we supposed to feed it to cows once the ranch system unlocks?

Before the others could react, Yin Xiang suddenly clutched his stomach. “Ouch! My stomach hurts!”

With that, he dashed out like a whirlwind.

Moments later, he returned looking triumphant. The “baby” was delivered, the poison neutralized—he was as good as new.

He circled Cen An excitedly. “Brother Cen, thank you for the medicine! Otherwise, I’d have been stuck with this for over a year!”

Cen An chuckled. “Human pregnancies only last nine months.”

Yin Xiang chuckled, continuing his circles. If he had a tail, it would’ve been whipping like a fan. “Brother Cen, stay for dinner? Afterwards, I’ll escort you back…”

A massive boot materialized behind him, sending the poor kid flying. “You kicked me again! Brother Cen, look! My brother’s always picking on me!”

Cen An glared at Su Rui. “He just got sick!”

Su Rui raised an eyebrow, mentally noting the incident, but said aloud, “So, will you dine here? I have plenty of ingredients! Care to take a look?”

Cen An found himself intrigued by the offer and stood up.

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

Yongning Village.

Yu Lin forced himself to find Qu Yue, demanding she stop whatever she was doing immediately. Everyone was to be dispatched to search for Cen An.

Qu Yue was already planning to do just that. Yu Lin had made it clear: the straw rabbit he’d given Cen An contained a thorned wisteria seed and a trace of his psychic power.

Only when Cen An faced mortal danger would the thorned wisteria sprout rapidly to protect its master.

Mortal danger… The mere thought of those two words applied to Cen An made Qu Yue feel like she was suffocating!

“Recall everyone! All Level 1 or higher ability users, head into the mountains to search!” Qu Yue roared. “Level 1 users, go to the village and find out if anyone has seen Xiao Cen! Hurry!”

“Yes!”

The members of the Ability Squad knew exactly what Cen An meant to them. Without a second word, they sprinted up the mountain.

A female ability user ran over and whispered, “Sis Qu, Shi Long wants to see you.”

“I don’t have time for him right now!” Qu Yue flipped her palm to grab her seed pouch, slinging it onto her waist. “Let’s go, Old Zhao! Find my little brother!”

The female ability user considered seeking out Wang Lie, but he was even more impatient—Yu Lin had bolted the moment he finished speaking and was likely already up the mountain.

The female ability user thought it over. Shi Long probably just wanted to plead his case; it wasn’t a big deal. Brother Cen was far more important. So she pushed the matter to the back of her mind and headed up the mountain herself.

In an instant, the entire Ability Squad base was left with only Yu Lin. Suddenly, he turned his head and coldly commanded, “Come out!”

At the doorway, a small head peered in… Xiao Yi, shouldering a leather sack, stared back at him just as coldly. “Did something happen to him?”

Yu Lin looked at him and suddenly broke into a smile. “You think you can protect him? Ha.”

It was unclear whether he was referring to Xiao Yi or himself.

Deep within the mountains, a shadowy figure clad in black robes darted swiftly, finally halting before a massive boulder.

Chaos reigned: massive spider appendages, entrails spilled across the ground, and a patch of soil stained green… Thankfully, no human blood.

Yu Fei crouched expressionless, his fingertip tracing the greenened earth. “…Azure Blast Crystal Pill.”

Where was he now?

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

Deep in the mountains, Cen An remained unaware that his friends were searching high and low for him.

At that moment, he was exploring the cave’s “kitchen.”

After Su Rui gave him a tour, he realized the cave was far larger than he’d imagined—as if the entire mountain had been hollowed out, spanning hundreds of square meters.

It was divided into several chambers, one dedicated solely to food storage. This particular chamber even had a hearth built into it, bearing a striking resemblance—nearly nine parts alike—to the one in the small shack. Only the materials differed; it was clearly Su Rui’s own replica.

There were also bowls and chopsticks, along with several large pots.

There were two iron pots alone, though their shapes were somewhat peculiar; they were perfectly functional. There was also a massive clay pot, standing as tall as Cen An’s shoulder—so enormous it could practically stew a person.

Beyond that lay various ingredients.

Su Rui hadn’t lied—the supplies here far outnumbered those in the shack. Three baskets brimmed with common and rare spices, while wild greens and fruits piled as high as sacks stood alongside rice and wheat… Most crucially, Cen An spotted a sheep!

A live, full-grown, several hundred-pound beast, its limbs bound and flopping on the floor like a fish, its legs kicking weakly…

Cen An never would have imagined such a thing appearing in the kitchen! Normally, only parts of it would show up in the kitchen…

Behind him, Su Rui cleared his throat expectantly. “Are we eating here?”

“Well…”

At the doorway, Yin Xiang poked his head out, looking at him pitifully.

Cen An rubbed his temples. “Fine. Let’s eat here then.”

“Awesome! Big Bro Cen, I’ll help you! I can chop veggies!”

Cen An couldn’t help but laugh. For some reason, Yin Xiang reminded him a bit of a puppy, making him feel an unexpected closeness.

As for Su Rui… he was more dog-like than the actual dog.

With a live sheep on hand, hotpot lamb was a must.

Cen An had tasted it once during a business trip to Shaanxi Province and was blown away. Later, he learned the recipe online.

He directed Su Rui to prepare the lamb. There was no way he’d waste the blood, and he made sure the other guy scrubbed the innards clean.

The freshly slaughtered lamb was so prime it didn’t even need blanching. Just remove the bones, and it will be ready for stewing.

That large clay pot finally found its purpose.

The pot heated up swiftly. A pile of wood nearly waist-high was stacked around it, burying the pot. Once lit, the flames roared to life. The intense heat seeped through the thick clay walls, making it perfect for slow-cooking.

Cen An laid the bones across the pot’s base, then stacked large chunks of lamb meat on top. He poured in a full pot of cold water before rummaging through the basket for cloves, star anise, cinnamon bark, bay leaves… and a string of other spices. He tied them into a bundle and tossed it in.

Simmer it gently—the broth turns creamy white when it’s best!

The cleaned offal also had its uses. Some went into the pot to simmer alongside the meat. The rest he sliced paper-thin for a spicy stir-fry later.

Cen An rummaged through the pile of greens again and pulled out a bunch of wild garlic shoots. They looked tender and juicy, carrying a sharp, garlicky scent, with sap still oozing from their cut stems!

Perfect timing—water-basin mutton needs wild garlic shoots for seasoning.

He set aside the wild garlic shoots, then ground dried chili peppers, cumin seeds, and peppercorns into powder…

Behind him, Yin Xiang sneezed. “Brother Cen, there’s another piece of mutton here. Did you forget to put it in the pot?”

“Ah, this,” Cen An chuckled. “This has a different way of being eaten.”

The water-pot mutton was meant to be eaten, of course, but another classic way of enjoying it was equally unforgettable…

That, naturally, was mutton skewers!

Su Rui had just finished preparing the offal when he was assigned the task of slicing meat. A whole slab of plump, tender lamb had to be cut into uniformly sized pieces.

As for Yin Xiang, he was sent off to whittle bamboo skewers. The bamboo was freshly cut, a whole stalk—enough to skewer an entire lamb if needed.

As for Shulan, he was hopeless. Not only was he slow, but his legs were unsteady. He stumbled halfway through his task. Cen An had already walked ten meters away before hearing a cry from behind: “Ouch… yikes…”

After two hours of bustling activity, the aroma began wafting from the clay pot.

A soft gulp echoed through the kitchen, the tension palpable. Nearly every pair of eyes was fixed on the large earthenware vessel.

Cen An was well accustomed to this scene. “Everyone, come help skewer the meat. Once the skewers are ready, we can eat.”

In the wooden bowl before him lay cubes of lamb, each about the size of a chess piece. Marinated for half an hour in a lethal dose of seasoning powder and soy sauce, they were already deeply flavored.

The two brothers obediently crouched down, grabbing skewers to thread the meat.

Behind them, Shulan was struggling to make his way from the living room… Cen An feared his friend might starve to death along the way.

Once the meat was skewered, it was time to light the fire pit. Each skewer was placed near the flames, where the gentle tongues of fire coaxed the lamb fat out, causing it to drip down the pink meat chunks… Finally, with a plop, it dripped into the fire.

An aroma wafted out, one that could drive anyone mad with hunger.

Grilled meat—a deliciousness hardwired into human genes, and the Silver Moon Wolves were no exception.

The sound of salivating grew louder all around, even punctuated by loud rumbling stomachs.

Cen An himself was ravenous, but the meat had to be cooked. So, under the urging stares of three pairs of eyes, he steeled himself and turned each skewer. “Just a moment, just a little longer…”

The aroma of grilled lamb skewers filled the air, swelling throughout the cave before wafting out the entrance, stirring the surrounding mutant beasts into a frenzy.

Had they not all known the creature dwelling in that cave was one they couldn’t afford to provoke, they likely would have stormed in long ago…

Yet, there are always exceptions.

The shadowy ability user cloaked in black gripped the skull of a Bloodfang Wolf with iron-clenched fingers, eyes deepening to a dark purple… After a long moment, he released it. “Nothing…”

The Level 4 Bloodfang Wolf, notorious for its savagery and bloodlust, twitched its tail a few times after being discarded before its soul departed in agony.

Purple swirled in his eyes. His already deathly pale face seemed to grow whiter, and his fingers twitched slightly. Yet he paid it no mind, continuing his stride to seek out the next mutant beast to “ask for directions.”

Suddenly, a peculiar fragrance drifted on the wind…

Yu Fei slowly lifted his head. “Fragrant…”

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

The skewered meat still needed ten minutes to grill, and the lamb required a bit more simmering. As for cutting the offal and preparing the side dishes… that sort of thing didn’t require his involvement.

With nothing else to do, Cen An idly opened the map to study it.

Probably because Su Rui had flown him here earlier, it didn’t count as him walking the route himself. Consequently, the map hadn’t lit up for the areas they’d passed through.

So now, looking at the map, everything around them was pitch black. Only a single bright dot marked the area near the cave entrance.

Further north lay a large, already illuminated section of the map—the vicinity of the village.

Only then did Cen An realize how far they were from the village—roughly at the junction between the second and third layers.

Walking there himself would take at least half a day… not counting any encounters with mutant beasts.

He scanned the cave’s surroundings again. Sure enough, numerous mutant beasts lurked nearby, the weakest at least Level 4… Cen An whistled in awe. Only someone as skilled and daring as Su Rui would dare live here.

He then studied the local resources. He hadn’t noticed upon arrival, but the area was rich in timber—many species not found near the village. Perhaps he could even find hardwoods and softwoods!

After dinner, he’d ask Su Rui to take him woodcutting nearby. Surely he wouldn’t refuse?

Maybe he’d even find medicinal herbs…

Judging the time was right, he closed the page. “The lamb skewers are done. The meat in the pot can be scooped out, too. I’ll stir-fry the offal…”

Before he could finish, Su Rui, who was slicing the offal, froze mid-motion. He stood up, and in a flash, vanished.

Yin Xiang, who had been drooling over the skewers, also stiffened.

Even Shulan, still halfway to the entrance, turned to look outside the cave.

Cen An tensed. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Yin Xiang offered a reassuring smile. “Probably a mutant beast. Brother can handle it.”

Cen An recalled the map he’d just studied and nodded. Living among these mutant beasts had its downsides—even cooking something tasty could be life-threatening…

Just then, Su Rui’s voice echoed from outside: “Who’s there?”

Immediately after, another voice Cen An recognized sounded, its hoarse tone even more unpleasant: “…You captured him?”

Cen An sprang to his feet, overtaking Shūlán on the curve and dashing toward the cave entrance. “Wait!”

Su Rui’s hand slowly formed a silver spear. His gaze fixed on Yu Fei like a wolf eyeing its prey, his smile dripping with bloodlust. “You come demanding my prisoner? You’ll live…”

“Hold on! We’re on the same side!” A figure lunged from behind, grabbing his arm. “This is my friend! I know him!”

He turned back to Yu Fei. “What are you doing here?”

Yu Fei’s violet eyes slowly turned toward him, his expression blank. “Looking for you.”

“What for…” Cen An didn’t finish his question before Yu Fei pulled something from his chest, flicked it into the air, and a red firework exploded.

Cen An was utterly baffled. “Why are you even pulling out a signal flare? What’s going on?”

He’d heard about these signal flares from Qu Yue. They were notoriously difficult to make, and the Ability Squad only had three in total. They were reserved for absolute emergencies.

They didn’t even use them during that mudslide last time!

Was this an emergency now?

Just as Cen An was puzzling over this, shouts came from all directions: “Xiao Cen!”

“Brother Cen!”

“Brother…”

Cen An turned to see Qu Yue, Zhao Wu, Wang Lie… the entire Ability Squad had arrived, even Tian Yuan was here!

He blinked, unable to speak. Suddenly frowning, he stepped forward to steady Yu Lin, pulling Xiao Yi toward him with one hand. “What are you two doing here? This is reckless! How could you venture deep into the mountains?”

Xiao Yi hung his head, looking slightly aggrieved, her hand clutching his tightly. He had nearly lost him…

Yu Lin’s face was pale, a thin sheen of sweat glistening on his forehead. He gave Cen An a reassuring smile, about to speak, when his gaze shifted to Su Rui.

Even surrounded by so many people, Su Rui remained utterly relaxed. His spear rested casually against the ground, while one hand—for some reason—rested on Cen An’s shoulder.

Yu Lin’s expression shifted several times before settling into a bright, innocent smile. “Brother Cen, who’s this guy?”